CARFREE TOKYO

- a collection of notes and reflections on urban living from the perspective of a family of five in Tokyo. My epiphany was many years ago, but being hit by a motorbike and seeing my life flash before my eyes caused a sudden change that slowly made me reflect on whether American style auto-centric urban transportation of the Roosevelt era really is a capital G "Good Idea" for civilized modern cities in the 21st Century. This blog explores the good and the bad in urban planning and design, here and elsewhere. The goal is simple - not "death to all cars," just more walkable communities, quiet tree-lined streets, good public transport, traffic calming, Velib style bicycle sharing and a bit of common sense. The bolg is mostly theraputic, so I don't go wanting to throttle every dangerous driver I come across, but partly also out of a real desire to see positive change. This blog explores how it can be done, the people who do it, and how, in many small ways, this very old idea may at last have found its zeitgeist. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Gadgets Galore


Depending on how you like to ride (and what sort of bicycle), this may really actually be kind of useful. For $20, you can get a dinky little gadget that will hold your umbrella for you. Provided it isn't too windy and you don't try to go too fast, you will get home nice and dry in your suit.

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/joy-joy/174951/235540/235543/#285434

Personally I prefer to change clothes at my destination, but I could imagine the Brompton crowd kind of getting into this.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is pretty cool, but it would have robbed me of one of my proudest accomplishments during my years in Japan -- learning to ride a bike while holding an umbrella. That's my high-water mark for bike handling!

Sunday, 14 October, 2007

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